It was disheartening and depressing to find out on Thursday that Paul Henderson has cancer. For Canadians of a certain vintage – and this typist is among them – Henderson stands fixed in late September of 1972 in Luzhniki Ice Palace in Moscow, wrapped in the clutches of Yvan Cournoyer, both celebrating Henderson’s goal in front of a down and out Vladislav Tretiak, giving Canada victory in Game 8 of the Summit Series against the Soviet Union. That victory secured a triumph in the series for Canada, a win that would not have been possible had Henderson not also scored the winning goal in the previous two games.
That Game 8 moment was the only time I ever watched hockey a school with the blessing of my teachers, the TV wheeled into the gymnasium so we would not miss the game. It was a seminal occasion, not just because of the dramatic circumstances, but because that was the point at which hockey changed, when Canada began to realize it could not continue to play the game the same way and still win. Things would have to change.
The sudden and everlasting fame that came Henderson’s way might have swallowed other people whole. Henderson had an average pro hockey career but his life, guided resolutely by his faith and by his conviction, is what might be defined in hockey terms as solid and sturdy, characteristic of a stand-up guy.
That will help Henderson as he seeks treatment for his cancer, but anyone who was celebrating 38 years ago knows there could be no better time to repay him than by lending him their full support as he tries to buck the odds yet again.
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